Two broken hearts come together in Guadalajara.
Javier Hernández will play again with Chivas after a career in which he uncovered the goalscoring vase in Europe.
He returns at a fragile time for the Mexican team, which lost a Liga MX final at home and will also try Fernando Gago, former Boca and Real Madrid player, as a coach.
Both the club and Chicharito need each other for redemption.
Hernández, 35, disappeared from the European football radar in 2020 after dazzling at Manchester United, having a decent season on loan at Real Madrid, a fervent spell at Bayer Leverkusen and three years at a good level at West Ham United .
The Mexican gave up his place in Sevilla to be the idol of Mexicans in the United States with the LA Galaxy.
The Mexican then recognized that it was the beginning of his retirement.
“I want it to be as big as possible,” he said.
But it was not like that.
Injuries and a drop in performance deprived him of his glamour.
In four seasons he accumulated 39 goals.
In his five seasons with Manchester United alone he scored 59 goals.
The comparison, however, requires the nuance of the lukewarm competitiveness in United States soccer.
My house, my family, my team, my everything.
See you soon!
@Chivas pic.twitter.com/GhMtucRGul
— Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez (@CH14_) January 24, 2024
What happened to the golden boy of Mexico?
How did the decline of the current best scorer of the Mexican team occur?
The 2018 World Cup in Russia was one of the breaking points for Hernández.
At that moment he felt like one of the born leaders of the Mexican team.
He assumed himself as the main face of a generation that promised to change everything for Mexico.
He was seen as an untouchable asset for the national team.
Before going to the World Cup he was the main protagonist of a party that broke up the locker room and, after hours of tension, he had to admit his mistake in public.
Chicharito relapsed into organizing off-field events that shook the waters in the Mexican Football Federation.
The late-night parties cost him his place in the national team.
The then coach, Tata Martino, ultimately removed him from the squad.
He has not played with the green shirt since September 2019. Along with these conflicts, Hernández allied himself with a supposed coaching guru
,
Diego Dreyfus.
The Mexican exposed his personal life on his social networks, including the birth of one of his children.
The footballer who previously presented himself to the public as the well-behaved student became a content creator.
His channel,
Naked Humans
, no longer exists and his romantic relationship with Sarah Kohan ended.
The personal swing cost Chicharito, who could not fill the figure of the idol in Los Angeles.
His performance was not optimal and in his free time he was playing video games on Twitch.
The Spanish
streamer
Ibai invited him to play a game in the Kings League.
Chicharito was echoed only on the internet.
In June 2023 everything broke for him when he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
That, in the long run, cost him his job at the Galaxy by not renewing his contract.
Chicharito dedicated himself to building his own team in the Kings League Americas called Olimpo.
It seemed like it would be a harsh end to his career as a player, until Chivas looked for him.
Guadalajara will try in 2024 with Fernando Gago for technical direction.
The decision was made by Fernando Hierro, sports director, after the dismissal of Serbian Veljko Paunovic, who led the club to the final last May and lost it in an unlikely way at home.
The club also resents that its biggest rival, América, won the last Liga MX to establish itself as the most successful in Mexico.
Chivas cling to a resurrection of Chicharito to return to glory.
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